Indicating device



Feb. 4, 1930. W.,H. WASCHER INDICATING DEVICE Filed on, 4, 192a UNITEDSTA Patented Feb. 4, 1930 I a WILLIAM H. WASCHER, OF FLINT, MICHIGANINDICATING DEVICE Application filed October 4, 1928. Serial No. 310,250;

' Thisinvention relates to indicating devices and particularly to suchdevices as are suit- I able. for usein indicating the street numberject' being the provision of a device of this of residences, or likeuses, the principal 0bkind which will be'visible either day or, night."iknotherobject is to provide an illuminated a" indicating device inwhich the illuminating means, will be kept constantly burning.

Anotherobject is to provide a device of the type described that will beconstantly illuminated, but in which the illuminating means willbeineflective .asfar as illumination is concernedin daylight. Anotherobject is to provide an illuminating device of the type described inwhich the illuminating means are supplied with power from a step-downtransformer floatlng'on the ordinary house-lighting circuit.Anotherobject is to provide a device of the type described in which theilluminating means derives its power from the transformer employed inconnection with the usual bell.- ringing circuit conventionally employedin residencesand the like.

, Anothe'r object isto provide a newan d novelconstruction for anilluminating 1I1d1' I y a pan-like container 10 open on one side onlyeating .device.

A; further obj 'nated indicating'device comprising a con-' tainerprovided with a readily detachable face, the face, being formed by apair of transparent plates overlying each other and enclosing betweenthem a stencil plate and a light diffusing member. 7

The above being among the objects of thepresent "invention, the sameconsists in cer tain features of construction and combinations of partsto be hereinafter described with reference to the accompanying drawing,and

then claimed, having jects in view.

In the accompanying drawing which illustrates a suitable embodiment ofthe present the above and other obinvention, and in which like numeralsrefer to'like parts throughout the several difl'erent views,-

, Fig. 1 is a more or less diagrammatic partially broken face view of myindicating dect is to provide an illumi- Vice illustrating theelectrical circuit for the same. V

Fig. 2 is an enlarged partially broken face view of my indicatingdevice.

Fig. 3 isa sectional view taken on the line 33 of Fig. 2.

The idea of providing an illuminated indicating device for indicatingstreet numbers and the like is in itself old, but so far as I am onlyprovides a construction that is economical in its initial cost, whichemploys a negligible amount of power for its continued operation, but isequally efiicient either in daytime or at night.

Referring to the accompanying drawing it will be noted that the deviceitself comprises and having the margins of the open side turned over asat 11 around a wire such as 12 so as to form an outwardly extendingflanged or beaded edge. Within the container is a base 13 which receivesa suitable electric bulb 14. The open side of the container 10 is closedby two glass plates 15 and 16 which overlie the open faceof thecontainer and Whichpare secured thereto by a frame provided with arelatively narrow flange 17 overlying the sides of the outer face of theplate 16 and extending around the margins of the plates 15 and 16 andengaging the same, and provided with in-turned flanges 18 along thesides which resiliently embrace the marginal side flanges 11 of thecontainer and resiliently clamp the transparent plates 15 and 16 againstthe face of the flanges 11. Between the plates 15 and 16 are positioneda stencil plate 19 and a light diffusing plate 20. The plates 15 and 16are preferably of clear glass. The stencil plate 19 may be of any opaquematerial or suitable translucent material which will not permit a tooready passage of the light therethrough, and the plate 20 may be made ofany suitable material preferably of a translucent type such as coloredcrepe paper or any other like material which will cause suitablediffusion of the light from the bulb 14 before the light is transmittedthrough the openings in the stencil plate 19. The plates 19 and 20 arepreferably separable from each other and from the glass plates 15 and 16so that any color of the diffusing plate 20 and any suitable stencildesign on the plate 19 or color thereof may be furnished with any devicethat maybe sold, although they may be cemented or otherwise secured inplace when desired. The stencil plate 19 is preferably of a light colorsuch as white and the plate 20 of a relatively dark color which will setout the markings in the stencil plate with cleairness and exactness indaylight but which, when viewed at night through the markings in thestencil plate, will clearly and easily disclose such markings. It will,of

course, be obvious that at night the stencil plate will appear black andthe markings therein will appearas of the color of the plate 20, whilein the daytime the stencil will appear white or any other color withwhich it may be finished and the markings therein of the color of theplate 20, the illuminating means, in the daytime being of insufficientbrilliancy to cause the light to be apparent through the markings in thestencil plate.

The clamping frame which secures the plates 15, 16, 19 and 20 to thecontainer 10. ordinarily clamps the plates to the container withsufficient firmness to prevent possible entrance of rain into theinterior. of thecontainer, but should any rain find its way back of thelower face flange 17 the same may escape from the frame through openingssuch as 41 formed in the lower side face of the frame.

In order that this device require substantially no attention during itsoperation I keep the bulb 14 constantly burning so that there is nonecessity of turning ofi the light in the daytime, and in order thatthis constant burning of the light will not entailan undue expense forits illumination, I employ a low voltage bulb preferably of the sixvolttype. The source of power for thebulb 14, in order to reduce the cost ofthe same to a minimum, is obtained in the following manner. As isgenerally known substantially every residence at the present time isprovided with an electric light circuit of approximately 110 volts.These circuits are invaclaim.

22 and 23, such transformer stepping the current down to approximatelysix volts.

These transformers draw so little power 7 I from the lighting circuitthat they may be said to substantially float on the same. The

the bell or buzzer 26 is caused to operate. In accordance with thepresent invention I employ. the, bell 7 ring transformer 24 as thesource of power for the bulb 14 by'connecting it up to the same withleads such as some 31. and without the employment of a switch of anykind in such leads. The result is that the cost of constantly burningthe bulb 14 is so small as to be substantially negligible From the aboveit will beapparent that by the employment of the present invention I soI have provided an illuminated indicating de= 1 l vice which is equallyvisible at day or night, that is economical to manufacture, whose mandsa minimum of service and attention, and whlch is economical to maintain.

Formal changesmay be made in the spe-' V cific embodiment of theinvention described Without departing from the spirit or substance ofthe broad invention, the scope of which is commensurate with theappended wh t claim s: V

color than that of the outer face of said stencil' plate, and a sourceof illumination within said container of sufficient intensity to visiblyilluminate said stencil markings in darkness but ineifective to'visiblyilluminate the same in daylight. I V V a V WILLIAMH. WVASGI-IER.

riably of the alternating current type, and

in Fig. 1 I denote the two sides of the circuit as 22 and 28respectively. In residences so provided the door bell circuit includes astepdown transformer such as 24 interposed between the two sides of thelighting circuit parts are readily interchangeable, which del I 1.00 Anindicating device comprising a con--

